Things that have made you a better fisherman

[ball_coach_1]

I was responding to another post, and the same thought I put on it I thought would make a good thread topic.  What things/experiences have made you a better fisherman?  I guess I may read a few things I can do to keep improving.

One thing that has definitely made me a better fisherman is that I have been fortunate to fish a lot of different waters in different parts of the country the past 10 to 12 years.  I have been on Lake Fork, Guntersville, Seminole, Dale Hollow, Okeechobee, Stick Marsh, Toho, Lake Erie and others, and fortunate enough to be with a guide on most for at least a day.  I can think back to each trip, what I was taught, how I fished according to the time of year, forage, etc.  Those are great memories, but also useful ones.

Another thing, I posted earlier, is that I have made myself fish lures/baits/techniques I have little confidence in when I know I am going to waters with lots of fish.  A private pond/lake/quarry, I am going to fish something that will make me have confidence in another technique.

Probably most important, I grew up fishing creeks by wading or john boat/canoe in Kentucky.  Lots of species, and a lot of finesse.  My grandfather and my buddy's grandfather taught us how to fish little baits and small jigs to get more bites from lots of different fish in moving water.  Thanks - miss you guys - and the finesse stuff will always get you a bite when other stuff won't....you were right.

[D.Taylor]

Time on the water spent anywhere will make everyone a better angler.

Ball coach you are right in being fortunate enough to experience many different bodies of water at different times of the year is a big plus.

Also fishing with different people everyone fishes different. If you ever get the chance fish 5 different bodies of water with 5 different guys then rotate those 5 guys threw those same bodies of water. You can really learn alot by doing this.

I really want to fish with a lake fishermen one that reads maps and electronics and get indepth into deep structure fishing. This is where my game lacks.

Also I am a very experienced river fisherman. I had the oppertunity to fish with Terry Brown owner of another site Terry showed me things on my home pool I hadn't done since before 1993. He  made me realize a few things that I had totally over looked for 12 years and more than likely 20 years since I began fishing there. It will deffinantly help me out when I get done with college and make me that much better of an angler.

You always learn every trip out if you don't learn something you are either too arogant, too closed minded, or just not paying atention.

[KU_Bassmaster.]

Learning to adapt to the situation. Until 4 years ago, I would go out to anybody of water, at any time of year and beat the bank with a 4-6 inch plastic worm T-Rigged. Maybe you would see me throwing a Popper or a jitterbug. One day I realized that I must be missing something. I wouldn't hear all these great things about jigs, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits if they weren't true. So I finally dug through some Bassmaster magazines did a little reading to get a little info on when and how to use these different baits. Then time on the water and learning from every outing has help me become a pretty versitile angler in my mind, but I am still a work in progress. Developing patterens has also been another big thing. I have started to pay attention where I catch every bass and then try to look for places that duplicate it. When you can develop a sucessful pattern, fishing can ALL MOST become too easy..........lol. This summer I am really going to concentrate and hopefully master the art of reading maps and electronics.

[Phishn_Phool]

                              RETIREMENT

                              CPR ;D

[Flatfish]

Fishing different bodies of water has helped, but I think the most help for me has came right here on the Internet. You can keep abreast of the whole country right from your keyboard, not as much fun as the water, but makes the on water experience more productive. Learned a lot over at Bill Dance Outdoor's but the BS going on over there now has driven away many knowledgable people, hope some of them land over here, not trying to bash BDO they just need to take control of their site. Thanks Glenn you do a "GREAT JOB" here.

[Shad_Master]

Probably what has helped me the most is belonging to a local club and fishing the tournaments as a non-boater.  I got the chance to fish with lots of different guys and learn what they do well and what they do that I haven't tried.

[gamblerOH]

i spent a lot of time last year (summer) fishing deep water. A lot of lakes get recreational boat traffic during tourneys and I would alway try to find some creeks or other cuts to get into to stay out of that rough water,guess what? the fish dont care if its rough!! I have been concentrating on getting into deep (sometimes rough) water and its been paying off.Deep  water bass fishing is truly a tough thing to learn but I've been getting better the last couple of years and now that the fish are going back to deep water its helping a lot.

[tie1on]

My biggest thing would be that when I go fishing afterwards I always think of things I could of tried or done differently.Everytime I get in my truck I start thinking about things I could have done.I get too focused on what im doing at the time.And it doesnt always occur to me then.When I go back I  remember those things and I do try them.This also gives me alot of motivation. I will be glad when the day comes that I think of these while im already there fishing.

[jcrazy]

i used to fish all the time. but just haven't had time to fish in the past 4 years.  so me and my girl have a 1 year anniversary comin up and we're goin on vacation and they have a dock that you can fish off of.  so thats what got me back into fishin once again.

but for the most part, i believe the internet has gotten me to see all these new lures, and meet all the people that fish and can give techniques and information about any fish related questions that i have.

a fishin club would be fun, but the clubs around here are all a hour away.  the local bait shops are alright, but they just dont have a wide selection of baits.

[Will]

Some things that have really helped me out alot are..

1) I read about techniques and learned how to fish both shallow and deep water with every technique.

2) I practiced casting so I could accurately put the bait where the fish are the first time.

[el_jewapo]

Learning to adapt to the situation.  Until 4 years ago, I would go out to anybody of water, at any time of year and beat the bank with a 4-6 inch plastic worm T-Rigged.  Maybe you would see me throwing a Popper or a jitterbug.  One day I realized that I must be missing something.  I wouldn't hear all these great things about jigs, crankbaits, and spinnerbaits if they weren't true.  So I finally dug through some Bassmaster magazines did a little reading to get a little info on when and how to use these different baits.  Then time on the water and learning from every outing has help me become a pretty versitile angler in my mind, but I am still a work in progress.  Developing patterens has also been another big thing.  I have started to pay attention where I catch every bass and then try to look for places that duplicate it.  When you can develop a sucessful pattern, fishing can ALL MOST become too easy..........lol.  This summer I am really going to concentrate and hopefully master the art of reading maps and electronics.

i went fishing with a friend of mine the other day, i got to his house to pick him up and he came out with 1 bag of red shad culprit worms. that was all he wanted to use. i havn't fished with him for a couple years. i was surprised to see that he was still in that habit. he caught a couple little bass that day. but i caught alot more with 4 or 5 different baits. it would be more fun fishing with him if he would experiment. i hope he snapps out of it like you did.

[scbassin]

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!

[Sweetwater]

1. My dad didn't fish. Two older guys in the neighborhood I grew up in, one a very successful local tournament angler, the other just a bass addict, both masters at worm fishing and carolina rigging, spent alot of time at the pond behind my house teaching us young uns how to fish with plastics, and how to throw a baitcaster.

2. Back in 1998, I met one of my favorite current fishing buddies. Before then, I was mostly a small water fisherman. Anything other than a major reservoir. I was also mostly a shallow water fisherman. He fished West Point reservoir for hybrid and LM alot, and has an uncle that fishes it about everyday.

Both the uncle and my buddy are excellent at reading electronics, maps, and topography and fishing deep water.

Since I started fishing with them, I have become much improved in reading electronics and fishing deeper water. Plus, they got me into buying better tackle.

3. About 10 years ago, I stopped going only to prime waters at prime times, and made the decision to go fishing no matter the weather or water condition.

Fishing tough water at tough times makes one a better angler when times get good. And I've caught alot of fish that I otherwise wouldn't of caught.

Another thing, fishing new water that nobody fishes and patterning the bass myself. Here in Georgia, that is mostly streams and creeks. I found some real honeyholes this way

4. The single biggest thing that made me a better angler:

About 10 years ago, I read an article that discussed becoming a better fisherman by actually learning about bass, instead of learning about bass fishing.

I went right to the library and checked out a science book about bass. How they're born, how they grow, when they're adults, how they mate, how they hunt What conditions do they prefer. What water temps produce what behavoirs.

This, more than anything else, has improved my bass fishing skills by far, specifically in the finding and patterning department.

You got to find them before you can catch them. No lure or rod matters if there's no bass in the water you're fishing.

P.S.: There's several posters that said they'd like to improve their ability to read maps and electronics. Here's some tips that I hope will help.

1. Most important is learning how to read a topo map. It's a big plus if you can sit down with a map of water you're gonna fish tomorrow, and pinpoint possible hot spots without launching the boat.

A topo map shows a complete and detailed picture of the lake bottom. Channels, bays, humps, old roadbeds, standing timber, water depth, standing buildings, steep drop offs and ledges. Most good topo marks gives GPS coordinates for prime structure.

A good fisherman can take a topo map, factor weather and water conditions, and make a good guess where the bass will be.

Is it spring or fall transition time? Look for shallow water bays and coves near feeder creek channels, and the middle depth transition areas between these shallow water areas and the deep areas bass habitat in summer winter.

Is it summer or winter where bass will be deeper and sitting tight in one general area, look for deep water hotspots.

The only large reservoir I fish regularly, lake West Point, bottom structure in 8-20 feet of water near main channel current  is good right now. Sitting in my livingroom, I can mark all those locations in my GPS and motor right to them.

Then it's time to use the electronics to fine tune the hotspots located on the topo map.

Reading one isn't difficult.  The lines on a topo map signify areas at the same elevation. Lines closer together signify sharper depth transitions. Lines farther apart signify flatter bottom. All channel ledges are clearly marked.

2.  A topo map gives the general location of structure. Electronics tell you when you're exactly on top of the structure located on topo maps. Whether stumps, brushpiles, or baitfish are present. What the bottom compostion is, and exactly where changes in bottom compostion exist. What the water temp is. If baitfish are present.

Electronics should not be used to try and locate specific fish. Bass don't show reliably on electronics because they relate tight to cover, and remain still most of the time.

Trying to find specific bottom structure with electronics without a topo map is inefficient. Sonar paints a very small picture of lake bottom directly under the boat. It is best served to discern which structure found on the topo map is the best to fish.

Locate a hump on the topo map. Find the stumpfield and ledges on that hump using electronics.

Matter of fact, there's good topo maps right on this very site. I'll post a thread with a topo cutaway of a section of lake I know well. I'll detail how to read lake bottom, and the hotspots contained within that bottom.

[kcbassfishn]

I grew up fishing with my grandfater.  Everyday of the summmer we would go to the same lake and fish all day long.  I one most important thing he taught me was not to get caught up in the lures or bait.  Its all about presentation.  You have to remember that when standing in the ilse at the bait shop looking at all those different brands and all those different soft lures and hard lures.  There are only about 10 different styles of each.  Don't get caught up in all the hype.  I have caught fish on just about anything you can imagine.

The second most important thing about fishing is being able to visualise the structures under the water.  

The 3rd most important thing is something that Bab Winkleman told me (saw him at a local sportshow)  Fish don't have to do anything.  just because the water temp is around 67 degrees doesn't mean that bass are going to spon,  it just mean that the conditions are good for sponing.  

In my opinion you should throw at least 3 different kinds of lure at everytime your out.  And always  try something different that you would normally do.

Don't mean to ramble on so this is all for now

[Rattlinrogue]

I had the luck of having a father-in-law that was a successful tourney fisherman in the late 70's/ early 80's.I learned much of what I know about bassin' from him.To this day , I call him before most fishing outings to discuss strategy and after every outing to give results.He's a little too old now to fish a lot, but he still has a lot of knowledge.Also, I'd have to add experience on the water ,reading many magazines on it, watching plenty of the how-to bassin' TV shows, and forums just like this one.

[Kana]

since i recently got back into fishing, Ive been keeping a log of weater conditions, structure, where i caught the fish, on what, on what type of retrieve.  this has help so much.  i didnt do it previously and its no wonder i was rarely catching fish.  now im learing how to establish patterns in similar areas.  I used to get skunked quite abit, now i catch everytime im out, maybe only a few smallones, ore one big one but i catch!

Ive also started asking questions, for exaple, since i joined this forum, my knowledge of fishing has increased dramatically, because of fellow anglers willing to share thier knowledge.  Thanks!

[Rebbasser]

I'd have to say time on the water-learning both what to do and what NOT to do.

[TWP]

Slowing my fishing presentation down and being patient lol.

[Tsmola]

having a pond full of bass 50 yards from the house.

you learn a lot observing the same bass from Spring till late fall. You learn their habits, favorite foods, behavior, and you can even see a personality for individual fish.

[fishingrulz]

this site everyone on it learning from my mistakes and having an attitude that made me want to fish even more the next day even if the day before was a bad one and having a love for fishing.

[Chris]

I read just about anything I could get my hands as a kid growing up about bass fishing. I spent more time learning about bass than school work. I fished every chance I had. I rode my bike for miles just to fish different lakes and rivers. New lure came out that I saw someone on Bassmasters using I got one too. I tried to learn every technique I could. I hung around people that tournament fished when I was to young to fish with them and picked their brains. At the age of 15 I hung out at the baitshop to learn after school from guides and tournament guys. When I got old enough to drive I fished my first open tournament. I learned how to pitch a bait at age 13. I joined my first bass club at age 17. Learning as much as you can about bass, time on the water, fishing with great people, remembering what you learned makes me a better fishermen.

[jake]

What has made me a better fisherman?

1) Realizing there was more to the lake than the banks.  I started to fish more open water. Looking for stumps, dropoffs, humps with my depth finder. As close as I used to fish the banks, I may as well been fishing from them.

2) Slowing down!!!

3) Simply more time on the water.

[Crazy_Colaizzi_21]

Learn from others and try the OLD SCHOOL it works.

I am talkin spoons and bobbers live worms and bread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!